New Pilot Trying to Fly a Helicopter
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New Pilot Trying to Fly a Helicopter
Came across this video of a guy jumping into a helicopter after purchasing it without being checked out in it....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZYnCw0U-Ho
isnt it shocking how idiotic some people can be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZYnCw0U-Ho
isnt it shocking how idiotic some people can be
Please don't be miffed, Pipergirl. A lot of us have been in this industry for a long, long time. Because we're avid fans ourselves, we've seen just about every video clip imaginable. We dissect them at length, interminably prattling on and on about what caused what, etc.
It's tough being so jaded, having to maintain that slightly-bored, seen-it-all/done-it-all attitude. There are those on this board for whom that is a specialty. And some of us forget that there are always new people coming into aviation, making these "discoveries," watching them in fascination and awe, and wanting to share them with others. Trouble is, coming here and doing so is akin to going to your local preacher and informing him that you've just found out that people sin. But you couldn't know that.
Aviation in general and this discussion forum in particular is chock-full of self-anointed experts who just can't wait to tell you everything you need to know about flying (because *they* know everything, you see). Personally, I like poking fun at and holes in such gasbags. In a way, it makes me guilty of the same thing, but I can live with that.
Back to your video clip: Yes, that guy Hawg (or "Hog" or "Hawk"...it's hard to tell) was galactically stupid for trying to hover the little 269 without more experience. But hey, Igor Sikorsky did it! There was no one around to teach him how to fly helicopters, because he invented the dang things! You can tell that Hog is trying to get his nerve up. He inches the collective up a bit at a time...everything's cool so far...until the skids break free of the ground and then suddenly all hell breaks loose. We watch, almost expecting the crazy music accompaniment to begin, like the Benny Hill theme or something. It is a classic example of how "behind the aircraft" you can get (instantaneously!). Poor Hog never does get a handle on it. He must surely have been thinking as it went 'round and 'round, "HOW DID IGOR LEARN HOW TO DO THIIIIIIISSSSSS!?"
And that's the thing about helicopters. People assume that they're "easy" to fly. They're not. They're difficult to fly, easy to crash. When you master the art of hovering, you will feel that you have well and truly accomplished something. And you will have. But that's not even the half of it. Flying is about constantly learning, constantly improving...refining your technique and improving your judgement. It never ends. But sometimes, after a lifetime spent in the air, some of us get to thinking that nobody (especially not some wet-behind-the-ears newbie) can teach us anything. Read this forum for a few weeks and you will quickly see who I'm talking about.
The real trick in this business is to go from a "W-B-T-E" newbie to "B-T/D-T" old guy without becoming so blase (should be an accent over the "e" there) and jaded that we can't empathize with the excitement that a newcomer would get from seeing that video. But you know what? It is amazing. It still gets my adrenalin pumping every time I watch it. It's a lesson that all of us can continually learn from.
It's tough being so jaded, having to maintain that slightly-bored, seen-it-all/done-it-all attitude. There are those on this board for whom that is a specialty. And some of us forget that there are always new people coming into aviation, making these "discoveries," watching them in fascination and awe, and wanting to share them with others. Trouble is, coming here and doing so is akin to going to your local preacher and informing him that you've just found out that people sin. But you couldn't know that.
Aviation in general and this discussion forum in particular is chock-full of self-anointed experts who just can't wait to tell you everything you need to know about flying (because *they* know everything, you see). Personally, I like poking fun at and holes in such gasbags. In a way, it makes me guilty of the same thing, but I can live with that.
Back to your video clip: Yes, that guy Hawg (or "Hog" or "Hawk"...it's hard to tell) was galactically stupid for trying to hover the little 269 without more experience. But hey, Igor Sikorsky did it! There was no one around to teach him how to fly helicopters, because he invented the dang things! You can tell that Hog is trying to get his nerve up. He inches the collective up a bit at a time...everything's cool so far...until the skids break free of the ground and then suddenly all hell breaks loose. We watch, almost expecting the crazy music accompaniment to begin, like the Benny Hill theme or something. It is a classic example of how "behind the aircraft" you can get (instantaneously!). Poor Hog never does get a handle on it. He must surely have been thinking as it went 'round and 'round, "HOW DID IGOR LEARN HOW TO DO THIIIIIIISSSSSS!?"
And that's the thing about helicopters. People assume that they're "easy" to fly. They're not. They're difficult to fly, easy to crash. When you master the art of hovering, you will feel that you have well and truly accomplished something. And you will have. But that's not even the half of it. Flying is about constantly learning, constantly improving...refining your technique and improving your judgement. It never ends. But sometimes, after a lifetime spent in the air, some of us get to thinking that nobody (especially not some wet-behind-the-ears newbie) can teach us anything. Read this forum for a few weeks and you will quickly see who I'm talking about.
The real trick in this business is to go from a "W-B-T-E" newbie to "B-T/D-T" old guy without becoming so blase (should be an accent over the "e" there) and jaded that we can't empathize with the excitement that a newcomer would get from seeing that video. But you know what? It is amazing. It still gets my adrenalin pumping every time I watch it. It's a lesson that all of us can continually learn from.
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TOP post PF#1. Very well and eloquently put, as usual. 
Pipergirl as PPRuNe Fan #1 rightly points out, you will normally find a friendlier welcome in Rotorheads than Billy-No-Vowels, or whatever his/her name is, cared to give you, and I for one never tire of watching (Boss?) Hog's comedy hovering, in common with many others on here...
Pipergirl as PPRuNe Fan #1 rightly points out, you will normally find a friendlier welcome in Rotorheads than Billy-No-Vowels, or whatever his/her name is, cared to give you, and I for one never tire of watching (Boss?) Hog's comedy hovering, in common with many others on here...
Hovering AND talking
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Actually TFS - that's not strictly true! PPF#1 gave me a good ole pasting a couple of years ago; he must be wearing his nice hat today 
Cheers
Whirls
Cheers
Whirls
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I have not actually worked out but "What happened to the Pilot(or person holding the stick)" was he one of the people leaning against the upturned wreck at the end of the vid clip?
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what happened to Hawg?
He's still trolling pprune in his spare time under the moniker SASless. He had one boy, TheFlyingSquirrel, and one daughter, Whirls. Both of whom he taught to fly helicopters.
As for this being a chatroom for teenage wannabe pilots, zxcvbn may have a point. When I first stumbled across this forum the description of it being for "professional helicopter pilots" turned me around (because that's certainly not me) and I perused the other forums here. Unfortunately, none of them pertained to helicopters so I stuck to reading-only at first. Maybe there should be a Rotorheads Jr. forum here for folks like me, and a Real Rotorheads forum for real helicopter pilots.
As for this being a chatroom for teenage wannabe pilots, zxcvbn may have a point. When I first stumbled across this forum the description of it being for "professional helicopter pilots" turned me around (because that's certainly not me) and I perused the other forums here. Unfortunately, none of them pertained to helicopters so I stuck to reading-only at first. Maybe there should be a Rotorheads Jr. forum here for folks like me, and a Real Rotorheads forum for real helicopter pilots.
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G'day all,
I'm in complete agreement with most of the comments made in this thread.
PP #1 Fan,
You're spot on with regards to many of the comments made in relation to "Olds and Bolds" and their attitudes towards newcomers to the industry. It appears that many of us must never have been newbies and as such, there would be no requirement for us to exhibit empathy for those starting out on their way.
Having said that, I do believe Rotorheads is sometimes hijacked by "enthusiasts" rather than professional pilots. That's not to say that the enthusiasts out there shouldn't be entitled to their own forum. I guess we need to ask ourselves what sort of forum do we want for the pilots and can another forum be generated for the keen would be rotorheads out there?
One of the problems I find with Rotorheads in it's current format is that the sheer number of threads being generated is substantial but many of them are not especially relevant from a professional standpoint. Don't get me wrong, I like a good laugh as much as the next guy, but perhaps threads with more of a humour / general interest angle could be placed somewhere else more appropriate.
Cheers,
P68
I'm in complete agreement with most of the comments made in this thread.
PP #1 Fan,
You're spot on with regards to many of the comments made in relation to "Olds and Bolds" and their attitudes towards newcomers to the industry. It appears that many of us must never have been newbies and as such, there would be no requirement for us to exhibit empathy for those starting out on their way.
Having said that, I do believe Rotorheads is sometimes hijacked by "enthusiasts" rather than professional pilots. That's not to say that the enthusiasts out there shouldn't be entitled to their own forum. I guess we need to ask ourselves what sort of forum do we want for the pilots and can another forum be generated for the keen would be rotorheads out there?
One of the problems I find with Rotorheads in it's current format is that the sheer number of threads being generated is substantial but many of them are not especially relevant from a professional standpoint. Don't get me wrong, I like a good laugh as much as the next guy, but perhaps threads with more of a humour / general interest angle could be placed somewhere else more appropriate.
Cheers,
P68
papa68:
You know, I actually thought about this one day! I must have been bored out of my mind, already having had a good wank and was left with literally nothing better to do with that day...and so I found myself pondering the mission statement of this forum-within-a-forum: "A haven for professional helicopter pilots to discuss the things that affect them." Professional helicopter pilots. I may have even started or joined a thread on the subject.
Bottom line is: There are already enough sub-forums on PPRUNE. Fractionalizing helicopter pilots (I now come to believe) is wrong. The rotorcraft industry is comparatively tiny. Really. I am constantly amazed at just how small it is.
Secondly, I'm not sure it's such a good idea leaving all the "pro's" together in this room. What would we talk about that hasn't been hashed-out before ad nauseum?
Thirdly, if we segregate the newbies to their own forum, who will advise them? They'll need an "old hand" to answer their questions. More and more of us will gravitate over there and before you know it..."Rotorheads II."
So, no. Let's keep everyone here. "Professional" is a state of mind just as much as a statement of livelihood, I'm big enough to admit that now. It's the Bronx's and the Bravo's, the SAS's and the Mars, the Nicks and the Shawns, the Whirls and the Squirrels, and all the others who make "Rotorheads" what it is, warts and all. I wouldn't change a thing.
Having said that, I do believe Rotorheads is sometimes hijacked by "enthusiasts" rather than professional pilots. That's not to say that the enthusiasts out there shouldn't be entitled to their own forum. I guess we need to ask ourselves what sort of forum do we want for the pilots and can another forum be generated for the keen would be rotorheads out there?
Bottom line is: There are already enough sub-forums on PPRUNE. Fractionalizing helicopter pilots (I now come to believe) is wrong. The rotorcraft industry is comparatively tiny. Really. I am constantly amazed at just how small it is.
Secondly, I'm not sure it's such a good idea leaving all the "pro's" together in this room. What would we talk about that hasn't been hashed-out before ad nauseum?
Thirdly, if we segregate the newbies to their own forum, who will advise them? They'll need an "old hand" to answer their questions. More and more of us will gravitate over there and before you know it..."Rotorheads II."
So, no. Let's keep everyone here. "Professional" is a state of mind just as much as a statement of livelihood, I'm big enough to admit that now. It's the Bronx's and the Bravo's, the SAS's and the Mars, the Nicks and the Shawns, the Whirls and the Squirrels, and all the others who make "Rotorheads" what it is, warts and all. I wouldn't change a thing.
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Something I've always wondered whilst batting ideas back and forward with people on this forum is...... PPF is there just the one of you ar are there in fact 2 of you using the same log on ?????
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PPF #1,
Mate, your points are valid but perhaps the "professional" angle I was aiming for related less to whether one was actually being paid to fly for a living but rather if they were actually involved in the aviation game as opposed to perhaps just being a keen observer.
Again I stress, I'm not trying to get the enthusiasts offside, just trying to keep the threads related more towards actual issues that affect flyers such as technical questions, employment opportunities etc etc. I don't know if poetry and jokes etc come under that guise but that's only my opinion.
Enough of my hijacking this thread.
P68
Mate, your points are valid but perhaps the "professional" angle I was aiming for related less to whether one was actually being paid to fly for a living but rather if they were actually involved in the aviation game as opposed to perhaps just being a keen observer.
Again I stress, I'm not trying to get the enthusiasts offside, just trying to keep the threads related more towards actual issues that affect flyers such as technical questions, employment opportunities etc etc. I don't know if poetry and jokes etc come under that guise but that's only my opinion.
Enough of my hijacking this thread.
P68
Hovering AND talking
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For information, PPF1 is one individual who used to have a previous login name but got banned!!!! Gymble is the one you are thinking of who is, in fact, a group of engineers who like a wind-up. One of the Gymbles can spell (which probably means he isn't a proper engineer ).
I find myself in the bizarre position of agreeing with PPF1 - we all need a bit of diversity in our lives. Most rotorheads never venture outside this forum and so come here as well for a bit of light relief. Admittedly, there are posts on here which may be more suited to Jet Blast but that is up to Heliport as to whether he feels it is appropriate to move them.
I am working towards my CPL ground school at the moment and have been a Ppruner for 3 years when I was training for my PPL. There are all sorts of aspects to flying and "wannabes" can make valid contributions especially if they have an expertise in other areas (in my case finance and accountancy).
Cheers
Whirls
PPF1 - are we friends now!!!???
).I find myself in the bizarre position of agreeing with PPF1 - we all need a bit of diversity in our lives. Most rotorheads never venture outside this forum and so come here as well for a bit of light relief. Admittedly, there are posts on here which may be more suited to Jet Blast but that is up to Heliport as to whether he feels it is appropriate to move them.
I am working towards my CPL ground school at the moment and have been a Ppruner for 3 years when I was training for my PPL. There are all sorts of aspects to flying and "wannabes" can make valid contributions especially if they have an expertise in other areas (in my case finance and accountancy).
Cheers
Whirls
PPF1 - are we friends now!!!???
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PPF1,
Spot on! I was going to say a lot of that, but you said it first. What's happened to you, PPF1? If you're not careful, we're going to start thinking you're a nice guy.
I don't quite understand why anyone has a problem with threads started by newbies. It's obvious what they are, and I don't see anyone standing there with a gun forcing you to click on them.
Spot on! I was going to say a lot of that, but you said it first. What's happened to you, PPF1? If you're not careful, we're going to start thinking you're a nice guy.
I don't quite understand why anyone has a problem with threads started by newbies. It's obvious what they are, and I don't see anyone standing there with a gun forcing you to click on them.
That's Life!!
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But hey, Igor Sikorsky did it!
First, the earth cooled...
overpitched:
Well it must seem so, I guess. As I've stated before, I've been in this business for a long, long time. I have definitely made my share of mistakes. But somehow...miraculously?...I am still around, plugging away, not dead yet.
It's tempting to form mental pictures of people. We read some of the things they write and we think we've got them figured out. We come off pretty two-dimensionally in the printed word. Most of us are not Dickens or Hemingway, and these posts cannot convey a real sense of who we are. But we are all so much more than we present to the world here. At least, one would hope so.
I don't enjoy intentionally pissing people off, but on the other hand I don't care if I do. Whirls (both of you), I apologize if we have crossed swords in the past. But by dint of simply sticking around and not going away you two have shown your mettle and I respect that. Okay, I admit to having a short fuse; it's just that I loathe the foolish. I simply cannot tolerate those without common sense. For instance!
1) Guy comes on here, talking about the hairy, heroic 180 auto he pulled off after a power problem on takeoff in his R-44. Everyone cheers his magnificent demonstration of airmanship and skill. Only...wait. It turns out that he was taking off from an airport! for cryin' out loud. He departed from the very upwind end, over some trees (or other area with no good forced-landing area) and his only option was that hairy, heroic 180 auto back to the airport. If he had possessed the common sense that God gave a flea, he simply would have back-taxiied and given himself some extra margin of error/safety. But no.
2) Another guy comes on here, bitching indignantly about a farmer who fired a missile at his helicopter as he was on approach to an airport (another airport...Jeez!). The fellow as all angry, and expected us to be, that this farmer's cap (okay, so it wasn't a Shrike) could have gotten into his tail rotor and caused mayhem. (Was he that low??) Turns out that the airport in question is horribly noise-sensitive and is posted as such. And the Bell 47 in question was making a standard approach to the threshhold of the runway, of which there is an adjacent chicken farm (hence the noise-sensitivity of the place). A Bell 47 dragging in on a shallow approach at 50 mph or so and 3100 rpm makes an awful racket for a long time (certainly longer and louder than an airplane whistling in at idle/approach power). Anyone with an ounce of common sense would have made a steeper approach or tried to avoid flying right over the chicken coops altogether. But no.
These are the things that make me go ballistic...pilots doing dumb-**** things and then expecting the rest of us who know better to sympathize or support them. Oh yeah! Not.
Flying helicopters is much more than pushing the little sticks around and following procedures set forth in the Basic Helicopter Handbook or whatever. That guy Hawg/Hog/Hawk found this out the hard way! Flying helicopters involves constant thinking. And thinking ahead. I am constantly amazed and frustrated when I fly with other pilots who have absolutely zero conscious thought of their next landing until it comes time to actually make it. No forethought or planning whatsoever. Not to mention guys who don't plan their takeoffs properly! It just sets me off. And I get...well, "testy" would be a good word.
There is a guy at our base who likes to hover sideways and make banked hover turns. He must think it's fun. And maybe it is, although it's been so long since I've performed such bonehead maneuvres that I literally probably could not even bring myself to do them now. "You're going to crash the ship," I tell him. "Maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but some day that **** is going to bite you. And I hope you're good enough to pull a rabbit out of your arse, because you're going to need a trick like that to save it." Not to mention the bad example it sets for other pilots who might see him. No common sense. (Needless to say, he knows better than to do that stuff when I'm aboard.)
Experience can be gained simply by sitting in the helicopter and flying. Judgement and common sense cannot be taught though. And it is my sad observation that a lot of helicopter pilots don't have a lot of either.
Something I've always wondered whilst batting ideas back and forward with people on this forum is...... PPF is there just the one of you ar are there in fact 2 of you using the same log on?
It's tempting to form mental pictures of people. We read some of the things they write and we think we've got them figured out. We come off pretty two-dimensionally in the printed word. Most of us are not Dickens or Hemingway, and these posts cannot convey a real sense of who we are. But we are all so much more than we present to the world here. At least, one would hope so.
I don't enjoy intentionally pissing people off, but on the other hand I don't care if I do. Whirls (both of you), I apologize if we have crossed swords in the past. But by dint of simply sticking around and not going away you two have shown your mettle and I respect that. Okay, I admit to having a short fuse; it's just that I loathe the foolish. I simply cannot tolerate those without common sense. For instance!
1) Guy comes on here, talking about the hairy, heroic 180 auto he pulled off after a power problem on takeoff in his R-44. Everyone cheers his magnificent demonstration of airmanship and skill. Only...wait. It turns out that he was taking off from an airport! for cryin' out loud. He departed from the very upwind end, over some trees (or other area with no good forced-landing area) and his only option was that hairy, heroic 180 auto back to the airport. If he had possessed the common sense that God gave a flea, he simply would have back-taxiied and given himself some extra margin of error/safety. But no.
2) Another guy comes on here, bitching indignantly about a farmer who fired a missile at his helicopter as he was on approach to an airport (another airport...Jeez!). The fellow as all angry, and expected us to be, that this farmer's cap (okay, so it wasn't a Shrike) could have gotten into his tail rotor and caused mayhem. (Was he that low??) Turns out that the airport in question is horribly noise-sensitive and is posted as such. And the Bell 47 in question was making a standard approach to the threshhold of the runway, of which there is an adjacent chicken farm (hence the noise-sensitivity of the place). A Bell 47 dragging in on a shallow approach at 50 mph or so and 3100 rpm makes an awful racket for a long time (certainly longer and louder than an airplane whistling in at idle/approach power). Anyone with an ounce of common sense would have made a steeper approach or tried to avoid flying right over the chicken coops altogether. But no.
These are the things that make me go ballistic...pilots doing dumb-**** things and then expecting the rest of us who know better to sympathize or support them. Oh yeah! Not.
Flying helicopters is much more than pushing the little sticks around and following procedures set forth in the Basic Helicopter Handbook or whatever. That guy Hawg/Hog/Hawk found this out the hard way! Flying helicopters involves constant thinking. And thinking ahead. I am constantly amazed and frustrated when I fly with other pilots who have absolutely zero conscious thought of their next landing until it comes time to actually make it. No forethought or planning whatsoever. Not to mention guys who don't plan their takeoffs properly! It just sets me off. And I get...well, "testy" would be a good word.
There is a guy at our base who likes to hover sideways and make banked hover turns. He must think it's fun. And maybe it is, although it's been so long since I've performed such bonehead maneuvres that I literally probably could not even bring myself to do them now. "You're going to crash the ship," I tell him. "Maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but some day that **** is going to bite you. And I hope you're good enough to pull a rabbit out of your arse, because you're going to need a trick like that to save it." Not to mention the bad example it sets for other pilots who might see him. No common sense. (Needless to say, he knows better than to do that stuff when I'm aboard.)
Experience can be gained simply by sitting in the helicopter and flying. Judgement and common sense cannot be taught though. And it is my sad observation that a lot of helicopter pilots don't have a lot of either.
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Here's the Helicopter Forum Continuium of When You'll Get a Reply
Hours--->0 ----------------10--------------------100-------------------1000-------------------10,000
Forum:
JH: .......flame.................flame.....................flame ...........response........flame...
.
Vertical
Reference: Acknowledgement.......encouragement......................... .reverence.......
.
PPRuNe: ignore.........................ignore (unless really funny).................respond patronizingly................enter into serious debate...
Hours--->0 ----------------10--------------------100-------------------1000-------------------10,000
Forum:
JH: .......flame.................flame.....................flame ...........response........flame...
.
Vertical
Reference: Acknowledgement.......encouragement......................... .reverence.......
.
PPRuNe: ignore.........................ignore (unless really funny).................respond patronizingly................enter into serious debate...
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PPF,
You sound a lot like my CFI. Even THINK about making a mistake (or doing something stupid) and he barks, and barks loud. Which is the way it should be.
With that said, you mentioned something that amazes me. There are a lot of pilots (yes, including CFIs) that hover-taxi sideways at speed, take off over buildings, etc. And it does influence not just me, but other students, into believing the maneuvers are acceptable once we build a few more hours and are more adept. There seems to be a tiny gap between what we're told is unacceptable and what we see every day. Most days I wish I was 20 years younger so I could go through a more structured training environment in the military.
I hope you don't ever worry about offending someone here by being blunt. If you bark about something stupid someone did and someone gets offended, then so be it. Surely I'm not the only low-hour pilot here, lurking, and picking up bits of information. Set the record straight and tell us the way it should be...because more people are learning from you than you realize.
You sound a lot like my CFI. Even THINK about making a mistake (or doing something stupid) and he barks, and barks loud. Which is the way it should be.
With that said, you mentioned something that amazes me. There are a lot of pilots (yes, including CFIs) that hover-taxi sideways at speed, take off over buildings, etc. And it does influence not just me, but other students, into believing the maneuvers are acceptable once we build a few more hours and are more adept. There seems to be a tiny gap between what we're told is unacceptable and what we see every day. Most days I wish I was 20 years younger so I could go through a more structured training environment in the military.
I hope you don't ever worry about offending someone here by being blunt. If you bark about something stupid someone did and someone gets offended, then so be it. Surely I'm not the only low-hour pilot here, lurking, and picking up bits of information. Set the record straight and tell us the way it should be...because more people are learning from you than you realize.
Gerhardt:
Inthetin:
Thank you guys, but dang! I had to cancel a flight just now. Got into the ship and found my head banging simutaneously on the rotorbrake handle and right hand upper door post. Just wouldn't fit into the greenhouse. And I think someone left my headset out in the rain, because it must've shrunk, because I coudn't even get it over my already-sumptuous noggin. I don't think that I can take it, for it took so long to make it...ahh, there I go lapsing into Richard Harris verse again...Sorry.
Look, seriously, I have had the incredible good fortune of being able to learn from a variety of very talented people as I was coming up. I believe that to be a true student of aviation one must accept knowledge from wherever it springs forth. And never stop! Even at this advanced age (50+ now), I'm still fascinated by flying. I still love watching helicopters fly, and watching the differing techniques of those mortals at the controls. It's pathetic/funny, really. As I hear a helicopter rev up for liftoff, I *must* stop and watch. Will he get the yaw figured out beforehand so the ship doesn't slew sideways? Will he get the cyclic positioned *just right* so the ship eases gracefully into flight? Will he stabilize at a hover long enough to check things out, or will he just begin moving right away? Will he takeoff into the wind? Will he handle the ETL burble/balloon smoothly? I'm obsessive about that stuff, because when it's done right, it's pure poetry.
There is no single person who has all the answers, and for certain I do not claim or pretend to be him. AND! And I've found myself being wrong about stuff, even recently. Which is upsetting, because nobody enjoys being wrong in front of others. Yet we must continually allow for the possibility of being wrong, which is easy to say but very tough to do.
I hate hearing about helicopter crashes, especially those in which the first indications tend to point back toward the pilot (such as the most recent H-300 wirestrike accident in California). I hate it. There is just never any reason to crash a perfectly good helicopter. Yet people do, with monotonous regularity. Yes, even us so-called "experienced" guys. I just wish people would learn to use their noodle and use some common sense. Learn as much as you can from as many different sources as you can, folks. Meld it all together into a flying philosophy that works for you. Get and be good, and more importantly, strive to be even better every day, every takeoff. But don't ever think that you're so good that the basic "rules" that we learn when we're young don't apply to you now because you're older.
And don't ever let me catch you making banked hover turns.
Set the record straight and tell us the way it should be...because more people are learning from you than you realize.
Doesn't matter what the subject is, PPF's replies are still the best.
Look, seriously, I have had the incredible good fortune of being able to learn from a variety of very talented people as I was coming up. I believe that to be a true student of aviation one must accept knowledge from wherever it springs forth. And never stop! Even at this advanced age (50+ now), I'm still fascinated by flying. I still love watching helicopters fly, and watching the differing techniques of those mortals at the controls. It's pathetic/funny, really. As I hear a helicopter rev up for liftoff, I *must* stop and watch. Will he get the yaw figured out beforehand so the ship doesn't slew sideways? Will he get the cyclic positioned *just right* so the ship eases gracefully into flight? Will he stabilize at a hover long enough to check things out, or will he just begin moving right away? Will he takeoff into the wind? Will he handle the ETL burble/balloon smoothly? I'm obsessive about that stuff, because when it's done right, it's pure poetry.
There is no single person who has all the answers, and for certain I do not claim or pretend to be him. AND! And I've found myself being wrong about stuff, even recently. Which is upsetting, because nobody enjoys being wrong in front of others. Yet we must continually allow for the possibility of being wrong, which is easy to say but very tough to do.
I hate hearing about helicopter crashes, especially those in which the first indications tend to point back toward the pilot (such as the most recent H-300 wirestrike accident in California). I hate it. There is just never any reason to crash a perfectly good helicopter. Yet people do, with monotonous regularity. Yes, even us so-called "experienced" guys. I just wish people would learn to use their noodle and use some common sense. Learn as much as you can from as many different sources as you can, folks. Meld it all together into a flying philosophy that works for you. Get and be good, and more importantly, strive to be even better every day, every takeoff. But don't ever think that you're so good that the basic "rules" that we learn when we're young don't apply to you now because you're older.
And don't ever let me catch you making banked hover turns.